Grass cutter



Oct. 24, 1950 c. F. JONES 2,526,821

GRASS CUTTER Filed Aug. 26, 1949 47 Mdm* INVENTOR. @Eem/w F. JO/vfs,

TTOE/VEYS.

Patented Oct. 24,

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE GRASS CUTTER Cernyw F. Jones, Economy, Ind.

Application August 26, 1949, Serial No. 112,433

1 Claim.

This invention relates to grass cutters, and more particularly to a grass cutter in the form of a mower adapted to be propelled over a lawn or other grass-covered area.

It is among the objects of the invention to pro'- vide an improved grass cutter or mower which has no reciprocating parts and hence, is not subject to vibration or uneven operation and yet is effective to cut tall grass and weeds as well as short lawn grass, which can be made of substantially any desired width Without changing its length or depth, and utilizes a number of closelyspaced cutting blades to provide a smooth, even cut, which requires a minimum amount of power for its operation and utilizes power at a smooth, uniform rate, which is easy to sharpen and repair, and which is simple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture, and neat and attractive in appearance.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claim in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a fragmentary end portion of a mower constructed according to the present invention, a portion being broken away and shown in cross-section to better illustrate the construction thereof;

Figure 2 is a transverse cross-section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of a fragmentary part of the mower showing the -parts in one operative condition; and

Figure 4 is aview similar to Figure 3 showing the parts in a different operative position.

With continued reference to the drawing, the mower comprises an elongated frame bar I and a pair of hollow, side frame members secured to the bar I0 at respectively-opposite ends of the latter, one of these side frame members being particularly illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, and indicated at II.

A shaft I2 is journaled near its opposite ends in the frame side members by suitable antifriction bearings I3, and a pair of ground-engaging wheels I4 are journaled on the shaft I2 at respectively-opposite ends of the shaft by suitable means, such as the double anti-friction bearings, as` indicated at I5 and I6, mounted on the shaft at locations spaced outwardly from the adjacent `frame-carried bearings I3.

The wheels I4 are substantially enclosed in the corresponding hollow, side frames II, these frames being curved around the front sides of the wheels, as indicated at I1, to provide guards which not only protect the wheels from heavy contact with obstacles, such as stones o-r roots, but also serve to guide the grass or equivalent growth into the space between the side framesr where it will be operated on by the cutting mech` anism of the mower. Each side frame is cut away at its bottom side, as indicated at I8, to expose the lower portion of the corresponding wheels I4 for contact with the ground.

Each wheel is provided, at one side, with a web I9 which is provided at its center with a hub `boss 2B surrounding the bearings I5 and I6 to mount the wheel on the shaft I2, the wheel being retained on the shaft by a suitable thrust washer 2l overlying the outer end of the hub boss and secured to the corresponding end of the shaft by suitable means, such as' the cap screw 22.

At its opposite or inner side, each of the wheels I4 is provided with an annular flange 23 provided in its edge with gear teeth 24 and constituting an internal ring gear for driving the shaft I2.

A co-mpound gear 25 is journaled on an axle pin 25 secured at one end in an aperture provided in the side frame II, and this gear includes a small gear part 21 meshing with the internal ring gear 24, and a large gear part 28 meshing vwith an idler gear 29 mounted on an axle pin 30 also journaled in the side frame II at a location spaced from the pin 26.

A gear 3! secured on the shaft I2 meshes with the idler gear 29, so that, when the wheels I4 are rotated incident to the mower being propelled over the ground, the shaft I2 is rotated at an increased speed. This driving means is preferably duplicated at each end of the shaft I2 and may, if desired, include a one-way drive unit.

While an eilicient and practical means has been illustrated and described for driving the shaft I2, it is to be understood that other means may be employed for this purpose without, inv any way, exceeding the scope of the invention.

An apertured lug 32 projects from the reary ward side of each side frame I I, that is, the side of the frame opposite the guard I1, and a roller 33 is journaled` to the frame by means of these` lugs, pintles 34 extending vrespectively through the lugs 32 and being secured in the roller 33 at the respectively-opposite ends of the latter.

In a lawn mower adapted to be manually pushed over the lawn or other area, a yoke' 375` is pivotally connected at its opposite ends to the; side frames II respectively, by suitable means, such as the pins 36 projecting inwardly from the' side frames and extending through apertures provided in the yoke near the opposite ends of the latter, and a handle 3'! is secured to the yoke by suitable means, such as the bolts 38.

A plurality of guards 48' are secured in contiguous, side-by-side relationship to the bar l0. Each of these guards is provided near its rear end with a recess which receives the bar lil, so that the guard underlies the bar and projects forwardly therefrom. The guards may be secured to the bar by suitable means, such as by weldingor by the cap screws il extending through apertures in' the bar l and threaded into the guards 40. Each ofthe guards is symmetrically tapered from its rear to its front end, so that narrow, V-shaped spaces are provided between adjacent guards, and each guard is provided, in f its upper surface, with an arcuately-curved concavity 42. A cutting blade 43 overlies the arcuately-curved concavity on each guard and is secured to the associated guard by suitable means, such as the screws Ml. Each of these cutting blades has two cutting edges disposed along the respectively-opposite, longitudinal sides thereof. The rear ends of the cutting blades are disposed substantially in contact with the front edge of the frame bar l, and the two cutting edges of each blade converge symmetrically in a direction away from and forwardly of the frame bar, so that a V-shaped notch is provided between the adjacent cutting. edges of each two adjacent blades.

. A. plurality of cutting discs i5 are mounted on theshaft l2 in spaced-apart relationship, such that each disc is centered over a respective notch between the adjacent cutting edges of two adjacent blades. portion 46 which receives the shaft 52, and a web portion 47 extending radially from the hub. The hubs are preferably made of a length such that the discs are properly spaced when adjacent ends of contiguous hubs are in contact with each other, and each hub is secured to the shaft against rotation relative thereto by suitable means, such asa set screw 4S threaded through a screw-threaded aperture in the hub and bearing at itsY inner end against the shaft I2.

The web portions 41 of the discs 45 have a diameter such that they peripherally engage the adjacent cutting blades 43, and these webs are skewed or obliquely disposed relative to the axis of rotation of the shaft l2, so that as the shaft rotates the discs will wobble relative to the cutting blades and their peripheries will move laterally relative to the cutting edges of the blades.

The wiping action of the peripheries of the discs 4.5 over the adjacent cutting blades i3 will shear off grass or other plants entering the 'V-shaped notches between adjacent cutting blades with a smooth shearing, rather than a chopping action. As the notches between adjacent blades may be made quite narrow, a moderate angle of Obliquity of the discs relative to the Yrotational axis of the disc-carrying shaft is suficient to provide a shearing action along the entire length of the cutting edges of the cooperating blades, so that a large mechanical advantage is obtained and the shaft I2 does not require anV excessive amount of power to drive it and the discs. Also, the skewed discs are preferably arranged at different rotational angles around the shaft l2, so that an equal number of the discs are cutting at all times and there are idle periods between cutting periods of the discs and also so that the different discs cut in oppo- Eachdisc comprises a tubular hub 4 site directions to substantially eliminate end thrust on the disc-carrying shaft. For example. the obliquity of the successive discs may be spirally arranged from each end to the center of the shaft I2, so that all of the discs between each end of the shaft and the center thereof will be at different positions relative to the corresponding cutting edges of the blades, either adjacent or remote from the center of the mower.

Various other arrangements of the discs may be utilized without, in any way, exceeding the scope of the invention.

When it is necessary to sharpen the mower, the discs may be ground concentrically of the rotational axis of the shaft I2 by an ordinary lawn mower sharpening machine, and the cutting blades may be easily removed and sharpened individually. If any important amount of material is removed from the peripheries of the discs in the sharpening process, suitable shims may be placed under the cutting blades to obtain the proper wiping action of the peripheries of the discs over the cutting edges of the blades.

As the discs are individually cutting` at different s. degrees, the shaft I2 is rotated by a smooth and even flow of power without periodic variation, and as there are no reciprocating parts and no chopping action, at any time, there is substantially no Vibration or uneven operation of the mower.

The invention may be embodied in other specie forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claim rather than'by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency. ofthe claim are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

A lawn mower comprising a pair of hollow side frame members disposed in spaced apart relationship, -a barextending between and secured at its opposite endsV to said side frame members, a shaft spaced from and substantially parallel to said bar and journalled at its ends in said side frame members, ground engaging wheels disposed one in each of saidside frame members and journalled on said sha-ft,I aspeed increasing ear train drivingly connected between at least one of said wheels and. said shaft, a plurality of contiguously arranged guards secured to said bar and projectingy laterally from one side of the latter, outwardly tapered blades secured one on each of said guards, and a plurality. of disks secured on said shaft at spacedapart locations therealong and obliquely disposed'relative to the axis of rotation of said'sliaft, each of said disks peripherally engaging. a corresponding cutting blade and said disks wiping laterally across said blades tccut material against the side edges of the latter.

CERNYW F. JONES.

Number Name Date 2,282,238 Newton x; May 5, 1942 2,484,071 .Brauer l- Oct. 11, 1949 

